UMW posts record pre-tax profit for FY12

UMW Holdings Bhd posted a pre-tax profit of RM2.01 billion for the
financial year ended December 31, 2012, a substantial increase of 47.2
per cent from RM1.37 billion previously.

The achievement was a new record for the group, the company said in a statement today.

Its revenue increased to RM15.86 billion compared with RM13.53 billion, up 17.2 per cent or RM2.33 billion from a year ago.

UMW
president and Group chief executive officer Datuk Syed Hisham Syed
Wazir said all four core business segments -- automotive, equipment,
manufacturing and engineering and oil and gas -- reported higher revenue
for the year.

"2012 was another record year for the UMW group and we look forward to challenging ourselves for a better 2013," he said.

On
prospects for the automotive segment, he said the Malaysian Automotive
Association has forecast the total industry volume for 2013 to improve
by about two per cent to 640,000 units from 627,753 units achieved in
2012.

"Collectively, UMW Toyota Motor and Perodua is targeting to
sell higher units than the 295,759 units sold in 2012," he said, adding
that the group had a market share of 47.1 per cent last year.

"This
year will remain challenging due to intense competition in the market
with aggressive promotions on new model launches in the automotive
industry," he said.

Syed Hisham said revenue for the equipment
segment was expected to be slightly lower than 2012 due to uncertain
external factors that might affect the demand for equipment.

Nonetheless,
the profitability of this segment was expected to sustain resulting
from better cost management and increased parts sales, he said.

He
also said that performance of the oil and gas segment was expected to
improve in 2013 driven by the full-year contribution from jack-up
drilling rig Naga 1 and Naga 4.

"Naga 4 received a contract
from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd for a three-year period worth US$157.68
million this month," he said, adding that commissioning works on the new
electric resistance welded and coating plant in China would also
contribute to the oil and gas segment.

Meanwhile, the
manufacturing and engineering segment is expected to improve with major
activities planned for 2013, such as higher capacity utilisation for
automotive component plants in India, lubricant plant in China and
higher sales of Repsol and Pennzoil lubricants.-- Bernama